Houston IAH Airport Runway Removal

A recent project for Aggregate Technologies involved sawing and removing of thousands of square feet of runway concrete at the Houston Intercontinental Airport (IAH). Security is paramount at such sensitive job locations. All workers must be fingerprinted and pass background checks.

Existing runway lighting needed to be replaced, so an initial 1,500-foot x 66-inch trench (kerf) was sawed at a depth of 20 inches and removed.

Nearly 15,000 feet of heavily reinforced hard-rock concrete had to be cut at a depth of approximately 20 inches. Precise controls had to be maintained to avoid concrete spalling, flaking, or chipping of the surface that was to be preserved. This was achieved by making an additional interior cut, 1 foot inside the area to be removed. This technique protects the good edge as the interior slab is lifted out. Any spalling that may occur during the process then takes place on the 1-foot-wide section and does not affect the existing tarmac.

Once the concrete panels have been cut, they are removed using a lift-out machine. Some panels are cracked, which can require additional handling.

The customer provided a 20-day window for completing the job. ATI finished cutting and removing the exceptionally strong runway slabs in only 15 days – while maintaining a perfect safety record.

ATI is a reliable partner for large infrastructure projects – even in cases where technicians must adhere to strict security standards and background checks.